Newbury Park Jewelry Designer Donates Her ‘Love for California’

Newbury Park Jewelry Designer Donates Her ‘Love for California’

Newbury Park Jewelry Designer Donates Her ‘Love for California’2018-12-122018-12-20https://vccf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/vccf-web-logo-with-tag-line.pngVentura County Community Foundationhttps://vccf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/vcstar-square.png200px200px

Nancy Kanter, owner of Sparkling Vine Design in Newbury Park, wears one of the three pendants in her “Love for California” collection. (Photo: ALICIA DOYLE/SPECIAL TO THE STR)

At 3 a.m. Nov. 9, a restless Nancy Kanter looked out the windows of her Newbury Park home to see if she was safe. Just a few miles away, the Woolsey Fire on one side and the Hill Fire on the other were forcing many residents to evacuate.

“I didn’t see anything,” Kanter recalled. “I was about to go back to sleep and the phone rings. And I’m like, ‘It’s never good when somebody calls at 3 a.m.’”

The call was from one of her sisters, who lives about five minutes away. She said she’d been evacuated, but even worse, her mother-in-law had, too.

The mother-in-law’s house was only a block away.

Kanter and her boyfriend scrambled to grab anything and everything that was important.

Nancy Kanter, owner of Sparkling Vine Design in Newbury Park, is a jewelry designer who created a collection with 100 percent of profits going to victims of the shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks and fire victims. (Photo: ALICIA DOYLE/SPECIAL TO THE STAR)

Her other sister, who was out of town, got in touch with the couple and invited them to stay at her place in Oxnard.

“And fortunately they had just opened the freeway up, because the 101 was closed at the Conejo Grade because of the Hill Fire,” Kanter said. “It was nice to have a safe, comfortable place to go, but it was just scary. I’ve never been evacuated before.”

After three nights away from home, Kanter returned. Grateful that she and her home were safe — and still overwhelmed by the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill the day before the fires broke out — she decided to try to help others who weren’t as fortunate.

But how?

“Well, I’m a jewelry designer and an artist, maybe I can create something,” she recalled thinking at the time.

And so the owner of Sparkling Vine Design handcrafted jewelry sat down and got busy.

She designed three pendants that she calls her “Love for California” collection, and she decided to give 100 percent of the profits to organizations helping those impacted by the recent tragic events.

The “Love for California” collection consists of three pendants, from left: one with a heart in Northern California where the Camp Fire destroyed the small town of Paradise, one featuring a city of Thousand Oaks tree with a heart in the center and one depicting the state of California with a heart in the location of the Woolsey and Hill Fires. This collection was created by Nancy Kanter, owner of Sparkling Vine Design in Newbury Park, and 100 percent of profits go to victims of the shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks and fire victims. (Photo: ALICIA DOYLE/SPECIAL TO THE STAR)

The 1-inch by 1-inch pendants are made of glass and hang from an 18-inch oxidized metal chain. One pendant features a city of Thousand Oaks iconic oak tree with a heart in the center. One depicts the state of California with a heart in the location of the Woolsey and Hill fires, and the third shows a heart in Northern California, where the Camp Fire destroyed the small town of Paradise.

“I just wanted to do something,” Kanter said. “I just felt so helpless because this is my hometown and I love this area. I wanted to do something within my power that was positive.”

The pendants cost $29, plus tax and shipping.

“I’ve raised about $1,500 so far in profits,” she said. “Outside of my expenses, I’m donating the rest. I know it’s not a lot, but hopefully it relieves a little stress if they have a little extra money. It’s the least I can do.”

Profits from the sales of the Thousand Oaks pendant will go to a fund run by the Unrestricted Charitable Foundation of the Rotary Club of Westlake Village. Profits from sales of the Southern California pendant will go to the Ventura County Community Foundation. Profits from sales of the Northern California pendant will go to the North Valley Community Foundation in Chico.

“We wear necklaces close to our hearts, so I thought it would be a touching way to both honor our little town and state while also giving back,” Kanter said. “I’m also heartbroken for what my hometown has gone through in such a short period of time. I realize it’s just a small gesture, but I wanted to do what I could.”